1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the art of making artificial flowers, especially for use as decorations.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,568,859; 2,282,657 and 3,565,736 are examples of known techniques to make artificial flowers of soft, flexible sheet material such as paper or ribbon. To effect a more realistic simulation of a natural flower, it is desired to twist, kink and otherwise manipulate the flexible material. However, the flexible material does not readily maintain its shape after such manipulation. Hence, the art has turned to using stiffeners, such as bendable metal wire, with such sheet material. To prevent the wires from being seen, they are typically sewn or woven into the sheet material. The need persists for making a more realistic simulation of a natural flower from soft, flexible materials without the use of such bendable wires and analogous stiffeners which contribute significantly to the overall cost of the flower.